- Wanda Bulger-Tamez
- MC² Director
- Mathematically Connected Communities - MathLab
- https://mc2.nmsu.edu/
- New Mexico State University
- Kathe Kanim
- Program Manager
- Mathematically Connected Communities - MathLab
- https://mc2.nmsu.edu/
- New Mexico State University
- Lisa Matthews
- Math Education Specialist
- Mathematically Connected Communities - MathLab
- https://mc2.nmsu.edu/
- New Mexico State University
- Terri Sainz
- K-12 Outreach Specialist
- Mathematically Connected Communities - MathLab
- https://mc2.nmsu.edu/
- New Mexico State University
Public Discussion
Continue the discussion of this presentation on the Multiplex. Go to Multiplex
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Welcome to MC2 MathLab, a model of summer professional learning that simulates authentic classroom practice for teachers. We move professional learning from the theoretical realm into a real classroom setting where participants experience all the successes and challenges of implementing innovative practice. Please provide us with your thoughts regarding the following questions and/or any other comments/questions.
Thank you!
The MC2 Team
Sara Morales
MathLab is an intentional and systemic design that brings together curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning. MathLab addresses these four elements by providing an experience for teachers that models ways to promote a rich classroom environment for conceptual mathematics learning.
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Thanks for your comment, Sara. We are excited to offer this innovative professional learning model!
Mac Cannady
Research Group Director
Hi, thanks for your video, it was fun to watch and it seems like you have created a great space for students to learn math and to learn about learning math.
We are just starting a similar program and are looking for ways to measure success. Can you share a bit more about the instruments you are using in your research? What surveys, interview or observational protocols are you using? Where could I look to find out more about this aspect of your work/
Thanks!
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Hi, Mac,
We administered a pre-, post-, and post-post-survey evaluating teacher understanding of various pedagogical strategies. The pre-survey was conducted before Summer MathLab started, the post was given immediately after MathLab, and the post-post-survey data was gathered six months later. Our research shows that as a result of MathLab, teachers reported greater implementation once the school year began. In addition, we conducted a random sampling of classroom observations. Analysis of the data also indicated greater implementation of strategies learned during the summer professional learning once we implemented the MathLab model. Before MathLab, teachers rated our professional development very high; however, we saw little change in classroom practice as the result. Additional information may be found on our website at this link: https://mc2.nmsu.edu/research-impact/2016-2017-executive-summary/
Thank you!
Robin Jones
That's really interesting, Terri - you said they rated the PD high before MathLab, but you didn't see the change in their practice. Then with MathLab the actual classroom practice changed. Did you talk to teachers about that difference?
I really liked the idea of teachers seeing the streamed classroom video. I wonder how different the impact of PD is when teachers see things in real time (unedited) vs watching carefully edited pieces pulled from classroom interaction. The former is messier, but sometimes I think messy makes for great learning opportunities.
Thanks for your video.
-Robin
Susan McKenney
Professor
Thanks for sharing this exciting work! I am interested to learn more about the design of the MathLab experience, especially how you've orchestrated the simultaneous learner and teacher activity. Is there a place to read or see more about this?
Thanks!
Susan
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Hi, Susan,
Thank you for your interest! A detailed description of MathLab, along with an implementation checklist, is available in our article, "Problem Solvers" at https://learningforward.org/docs/default-source/the-learning-professional-february-2017/problem-solvers.pdf For more information, please visit our MathLab webpage at https://mc2.nmsu.edu/pd/summer-mathlabs/ which includes our student recruitment video. Check these out and let us know if you have any questions.
The MC² Team
Susan McKenney
K. Renae Pullen
Elementary Science Specialist
Wow. This is a really innovative structure for professional learning. Teachers being able to plan effectively and have support to plan for learning experiences similar to MathLab is a challenge we face in my district. I'm interested in (1) the how the teachers are supported throughout the school year to craft these engaging learning experiences for their students and (2) how the leaders that attended the summer PD used what they learned to support teaching and learning.
Thanks
Kathe Kanim
Program Manager
Thank you for your questions. We have two main learning structures that we use throughout the school year to craft engaging learning experiences for students. They are Collaborative Teaching and Learning Cycles (CTLC) and Interactive Classroom Professional Learning (ICPL). Each structure is comprised of three chunks. For CLCs we 1) meet with teams of teachers at a school site and co-plan a lesson, 2) implement the lesson and collect data on student thinking, reasoning, and engagement, and then 3) debrief/reflect on the lesson. Our lesson design is Launch, Explore, Summary (LES) and we as a team write learning targets, criteria for success, and formative assessment. The expectation is to try something new as we have this opportunity to collaborate with colleagues.
For ICPL the protocol is similar we 1) meet with teachers to learn something new about mathematical knowledge and skill development, 2) practice implementation of new learning with students, and 3) meet with the team again to reflect and plan next steps.
We often meet 3-4 times with these teacher teams throughout the academic year and also offer monthly virtual Professional Learning Community (PLCs) via Zoom meetings.
The summer learning for administrators includes knowledge about the support they need to provide for teachers to implement summer learning. The administrators arrange for the onsite learning opportunities and monitor implementation of the new strategies. As teachers move toward student-centered learning in their classrooms, their supervisors must understand how the look of the classroom is changing and how to recognize learning other than teacher-centered direct instruction.
In the very best cases, the administrators attend the onsite support and are one of the team members often collecting data during the classroom experiences and participating in the debrief/reflection/next steps sessions.
K. Renae Pullen
K. Renae Pullen
Elementary Science Specialist
Thank you so much for your detailed response! So many awesome ideas.
Kathryn Kozak
This looks like a great idea. Have you thought about how to scale it to be used in other locations? Are the materials you used, available to others? You live streamed the students so that other teachers can get PD. Were those recorded so that teachers not involved in the program can watch them? Is it too early for you to see how the students involved in this program do in future classes? Do you plan to see how they are doing?
Wanda Bulger-Tamez
MC² Director
Hi Kathryn,
In New Mexico, we have replicated MathLab in four locations across the state with 3-4 grade levels classrooms going on simultaneously. We had a videographer who traveled with us to set up video-streaming and training high school media students to work the cameras.
The challenge of scaling up is recruiting students to participate in MathLab over the summer. We visited many schools the weeks and months prior to MathLab to recruit students and work with districts to provide transportation for students when necessary.
Regarding materials, we are happy to share materials we used to organize MathLab and provide rich classroom experiences for students. Yes, we did record the video for the purpose of using the video in the professional learning, such as going back to listen and reflect on students’ discussion of their mathematical thinking. We have also used video clips form MathLab as exemplars in other professional learning sessions. However, we are careful to make sure teachers who were not in the session understand the context in which the video is taken.
Our purpose of MathLab is primarily for teacher professional learning. We focused our research on change in teacher knowledge and practice as a result of MathLab. Our research focus did not include tracking student progress, however, that is a consideration for future MathLab events.
Kathryn Kozak
Thank you for your answer. I am going to share your video with our local school district. I teach at a community college, but I think the local school district may be interested in this.
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Several of you have commented on the video streaming aspect of MathLab. Here's a quick summary of how the technology works:
MC² collaborates with Creative Media Institute (CMI), a partnering NMSU department. CMI faculty act as videographer supervisors and help facilitate the filming of MathLab. Local high school videography students are hired and trained on location to shoot the week-long experience. Each MathLab location has multiple camera setups which include:
Ellis Bell
Great project. The combination of teacher development and research is really cool. Have you thought of bringing this approach to introductory undergraduate science courses, with a particular focus on math and quantitative skills- its really needed
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Hi, Ellis,
We feel that MathLab can be useful in many different settings. Our funding is generally for mathematics professional learning in public schools; however, we would certainly consider partnering with K-16 courses or any field where math is integrated.
The MC2 Team
Kristana Textor
Hi all-
I'm here following Terri Sainz's comment on our thread, glad you found us Terri! My question for you is: what's your plan to disseminate findings? What conferences are you looking at? (Maybe AERA 2020?) Have you found any that have alignment to professional development for math teachers in rural areas? We are keeping our ears open for publication over at SyncOn. Glad to learn more about your project!
-Kristana
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Hi Kristana,
How you considered the National Rural Education Association (NREA)? Their 2019 National Forum to Advance Rural Education Annual Convention is scheduled for October 24-26, 2019 in Louisville, KY (https://www.nrea.net/Convention_and_Research). Unfortunately, the deadline for proposals was March 26; however, registration for conference attendees is open until October 4.
In the past, we've had a MathLab article published in Learning Forward's journal, The Learning Professional (formerly JSD) and have presented at the the 21st Century STEM Integrate 2 Innovate Conference and the Society for Information Technology (SITE) & Teacher Education International Conference.
The MC2 Team
Kirsten Daehler
Hi Wanda, Kathe, and team. Great work! After learning about your project last year, it was great to understand more about the MC2 model and MathLabs through your video. I know you have chose to use a videographer to live stream classroom video for other teachers to observe. I'm wondering if you've ever tried using Swivel with up to five camera set ups for small groups. I'm curious mostly because I imagine the small group discourse is fascinating, but you can probably only see one group at a time with the videographer. Looking forward to connecting again soon.
Terri Sainz
K-12 Outreach Specialist
Hi Kirsten,
Terri and I are replying to your post since Wanda is on the road. She was really excited about your swivl suggestion! We're already pricing out the equipment to pilot during this summer's MathLab.
Glad you came across our video and shared your idea,
Kathe and Terri
Further posting is closed as the showcase has ended.